Improvement in the manufacture of stearic agio



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

E. DE BASSANO AND A. BRUDENN, ()F BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEARIC ACID.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,135, dated August27, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EUGENE DE BAssANo, gentleman, and AnoLPHE BRUDENN,civil engineer, subjects of France, and residing in Brussels, in theKingdom of Belgium, have invented Improvements in the Manufacture ofStearine; and we do hereby declare that the followingisafull and exactdescription thereof.

The nature of our invention consists in manufacturing stearine in thefollowing manner and by the following means, first observing thataccording to the modes heretofore adopted of treating grease or fattymatters in the manufacture of stearine the quantity of stearine obtainedfit for making such candles varies from forty-five to forty-eight percent. by the process called Oalcareons saponification. By the system ofacidification by means of sulphuric acid, and also by distillation, theyield in stearine is carried to fifty-two and even as far as fifty-fiveper cent. The increased yield of stearine obtained by the process ofdistillation is in a great measure .due to the presence of elaidic acid,formed at the expense of the oleine or oleic acid, and of the sulphurous'acid gas produced by the double decomposition which takes place intreating grease or fatty matters with sulphuric acid. In fact, thesulphuric acid, which develops and disintcgrates the various componentparts of fatty matters, forms simultaneously glycerine andsulphoglyceric acid and carbonizes or chars a portion of the glycerine.The charred substance disengaged by the reducing action of the sulphuricacid causes-some portions thereof to be transformed into sulphurousacid, which then reacts on the oleine and gives rise to elaidicacid. Theprinciple of our invention is based on these reactions, and the resultsare a considerable increase in the quantity of eladic acid formed,without any sensible difference in the cost of the ordinary operationsof the manufacture.

In the present mode of manufacturing stearine, when the reaction takesplace the charred substance is not formed in a sufficiently simultaneousratio with the disintegration of the fatty matters, and the sulphurousgas escapes before the oleine or oleic acid is disengaged; and in orderto explain our said invention as completely as possible, we now proceedto describe the best means we are acquainted with for carrrying the sameinto practical effect thatis to say: Our invention consistsin adding tonew or virgin acidified fatty matters to be subjected to distillation:carbonaceous or charred matters, by preferencepulverized charcoal, asbeing free from empyreumatic oil and other substances contained inanimal charcoal, lamp-black, and mineral coal. We also propose to employcarbonaceous or charred matters, produced either directly or indirectlyfrom the combustion of glyceric residue fatty matter, the residue ofburned wood, feculae, and, in short, the residue arising from thecombustion of any substance containing carbon. We add to the fattymatters, after they have been subjected to the acidifying process, asmall quantity of carbonaceous or charred matter, as previouslydescribed-say from onequarter to one-half per cent. of the weightof thesulphuric acid used, there having previously been added to the fattymatters one-fifth or one-sixth, or even more,of oleine or oleic acid, orother oleaginous substances capable of producing elaidic acid, thequantity being in proportion to the quantity of concrete fatty acidwhich it is desired to obtain. By this invention a larger quantity ofstearine is obtained from a given quantity of fatty matters than by themeans heretofore employed of manufacturing stearine.

Having now fully described and set forth our invention, we herebydeclare that what we claim as our invention, and desire to secureLetters Patent for, is-

The use of carbonaceous or charred matters or substances, withadditional oleine or such equivalent substance, in the manufacture ofstearine, as above stated and substantially as herein described, asconstituting improvements in the manufacture of stearine.

E. DE BASSANO. AD. BRUDENN.

Witnesses:

A. OROOY, JOHN PIDDINGTON. Witness as to Adolph Brudenn:

GEo. HUTTON, Witness as to Ad. Brudenn:

H. W. SPENoER.

